If you've been eyeing up those new Motorola devices, but want a more open experience, now is your moment. Motorola has added listings for the fabled Verizon and GSM Developer Edition Moto X units and a Developer Edition DROID MAXX. All three phones clock in at $649.99.

The DROID MAXX is Verizon only, but does have an unlockable bootloader and a cool "Developer Edition" badge. The Moto X developer handsets come in either GSM or Verizon flavors, but only the Verizon version is currently in stock. Now that the page is live, the GMS device could pop up at any time. You're also looking at 32GB of storage in these devices, which makes the high price a little easier to swallow. Well, you also get the words "Developer Edition" emblazoned on them just like the DROID MAXX. They are only available in two-tone black and white. Also, note both Verizon-compatible phones have actual Verizon logos.

The Verizon phones are probably going to be more in-demand than the GSM Moto X. While it works on both AT&T and T-Mobile, a Google Play version of the Moto X is supposed to come at some point. That could be a more compelling option than the Developer Edition.

I'm hoping that turns out to be true for me too. I need a new phone stat; still waiting for N5. Will switch from Verizon to TMO.

Keith Thompson

I have Verizon, my gf has Tmobile. We drive back and forth from Detroit, Mi to Sandusky Ohio for Cedar Point very often. Since i have coverage on the whole route, we have to use my phone for streaming purposes.

What you are arguing is very subjective. You can look up any unbiased and objective source and it will tell you how much better Verizon is.

giant22000

Verizon is raping you! Get over it! You don't owe anybody any explanation...

Steve Freeman

As soon as VZW gets rid of grandfathered unlimited data plans, I'm leaving. UNTIL then, the unlimited data is too good to walk away from.

Keith Thompson

Unlimited data is amazing.

Ashish

While you are welcome to believe what you want, there are situations where Verizon truly is the cheapest option for the service I need. The $30 T-Mobile plan is good and all, but we all know that's not real unlimited data, and for me 100 minutes just won't cut it.. I pay $68/Month AFTER taxes and get exactly what I need. A couple hundred minutes, a couple hundred texts, real unlimited data (no worrying about if they find out I'm tethering, etc.), and the best of all LTE practically every where.

regbs

FTW? Right. T-Mobile's 4G LTE coverage is lousy even in Manhattan. With Verizon, you'll find >12mbps in 2000-person towns in the Midwest. Where is this fantasy land where T-Mobile claims 4G coverage? T-Mobile's LTE drops crossing 53rd & Lex.
Maybe if I stand on one foot with my opposite hand on my head I can get
30 secs worth of T-Mobile's fabled LTE. Agreed that VZW fleeces its customers, but VZW delivers. Its LTE works in real
life. No other carrier in the world can say that as of Sept 2013. See
the BBC complaining about LTE inaccessibility in London, much less hundreds of miles outside the city.

lensgrabber

HTC One 64gb is a little easier to swallow than X at 32gb for the same price. We are expecting the N5 in less than a month. I think it's worth waiting to see what price point that will be at. I have a hunch it will be a hell of a lot cheaper than $650. It might not have all of the optimizations the X has but will probably be a better overall phone.

>> While it works on both AT&T and T-Mobile, a Google Play version of
the Moto X is supposed to come at some point. That could be a more
compelling option than the Developer Edition.

I don't think so. Moto X is a weird smartphone that if you take out the Motorola features, you are just looking at an overpriced mid-range device.

Asphyx

If I'm not mistaken most of those Moto features are available in the Play store so you can add what you want.
It's not like you need to have MotoBlur to get the features like it used to be. Not sure on the Samsung side but I'm betting you flash AOSP you lose all those features with no way to get them back via Play store. (someone please correct me if thats not the case)

>> It's not like you need to have MotoBlur to get the features like it used to be.

Even if there's no MotoBlur, it doesn't mean there is not a Motorola framework. Even if it's not needed, there's no telling whether Motorola would open it up for the Google Play Edition -- I think we should get used to the idea that Motorola != Google.

giant22000

That's exactly right! The Moto X needs to be cheaper than the Nexus 4 to be competitive IMO. I think the Moto X is a complete and absolute fail at it's current price point!

Freak4Dell

Yeah, I'm not so sure a GPE is still coming. I think there was a lot of confusion on whether the original GPE talk was actually just about a developer device. Did they ever directly state that there is both a developer edition and a GPE in the works?

HolyFreakingCrap

$649? How stupid can one company be? I just got a Nexus 4 for $199. That set the bar for me and many others. Companies who sell $650 phones are not going to make it in today's market.

fierywater

You do realize that your $199 Nexus 4 happened because it was on clearance and subsidized by Google to begin with, right? The Nexus 4 was far more expensive than that outside of the States.

Steve Freeman

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he doesn't realize any of those things.

Steve Freeman

BTW, you realize the N4 was the only phone of even those somewhat limited specs at that price point? Google was selling it at that price because it was expecting to (and probably did) make up the difference in Play Store purchases. No other device companies can do that. Since, ya know, there are no Motorola/HTC/LG/Samsung Play Store equivalents.

To contradict this advertisement, now is not "your moment."
As far as the Droid Maxx "developer edition" being available, this is untrue. It cannot be purchased now (9-20), and when I contacted Motorola, I was informed that they have no information as to when it would be available.

dhinged

Good job not posting a date on your articles Android Police, so I can't tell which news is old or new. Very amateur of you.